Photo/Illutration Daiki Kameda, left, loses to Liborio Solis by decision on Dec. 3, 2013. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Tokyo High Court on Feb. 24 upheld a district court decision and doubled the damages that the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) was ordered to pay to the three Kameda brothers for suspending licenses against their boxing gym.

The JBC was ordered to pay a total of 100 million yen ($867,200) to former three-weight world champion Koki Kameda and his two younger brothers, Daiki and Tomoki. 

Daiki was the International Boxing Federation (IBF)’s super flyweight titleholder in 2013, and had a unification bout against Liborio Solis, a Venezuelan, the World Boxing Association (WBA)’s super flyweight champion. 

Daiki lost the fight but retained his title because Solis failed to make the weight.

After the fight, controversy ensued as the IBF had said the day before the match that "if Daiki loses the bout, he will lose his title."

However, the IBF and the Kameda side corrected that statement after the fight, saying that he had retained his title despite the defeat. 

The news media questioned the responsibility of the JBA, which saw Kameda's declaration as a slap in the face. 

It took disciplinary action against the Kamedas, deciding not to renew the licenses of the chairman and manager of the Kameda Gym.

Kameda and others “caused confusion by holding a news conference after the bout without permission to correct their statement and ruined the JBC’s credibility,” the JBC said.

Kameda, with his two younger brothers and others, filed a lawsuit against the JBC and others, arguing that the commission’s action was unjust and deprived them of an opportunity to fight in domestic bouts.

They sought about 660 million yen in damages.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that the JBC’s action was illegal. It ordered the JBC to pay a total of 45.5 million yen to the plaintiffs.

The high court upheld the district court decision and raised the damage amount from 45.5 million yen to about 100 million yen.

The high court said that the fact that the Kameda camp corrected the IBF statement after the bout “was a release of accurate information and not an act of disloyalty against the JBC.”

The JBC’s punishment “was an abuse of discretion and illegal,” the court said, upholding the district court decision.

The high court doubled the damages amount after taking into account the purses and revenue from bouts that the Kamedas missed out on due to the JBC's punitive action. 

Related News